FOMO when switching to a dumb phone

[oliver]

Hey guys!

I'm a European high school student and I really like the idea of switching to a dumb phone. I'm practically addicted to my iPhone at this point and sometimes my screen time is more than 6 hours which is very obviously unhealthy, so I could really benefit from a stimulus-free phone.

The problem is that I use Instagram to communicate with my friends, I also use public transport apps on my phone for my daily commute, I take lots of pictures of things I come across daily and I use contactless Apple Pay a lot for its convenience. If I were to switch to a dumb phone all my connections would practically be cut off with my friends, I wouldn't be informed of recent news and my daily routine would be much more difficult as well.

Also, if I were to switch to a dumb phone I would just use my computer to view short-form content and my screen time would increase there instead, so I would just be addicted to a different device.

If I really think about it, my smartphone isn't the problem, social media is. But I can't delete it because of my friends. I'd get left out of everything.

Are there any alternatives to dumb phones I could try? Anyone have any tips?

[2muchcode4me]

I'm also a European struggling with the idea of switching to a dumb phone. The main obstacle for me is WhatsApp, as everyone I know uses it. I do chat with people on Instagram as well, but I can easily do that on my computer.

One piece of advice I can give is to use your bank card for transactions and enable Assistive Access on your iPhone. Keep in mind that you'll need to enable several settings, such as volume buttons, Mute switch, battery %, apps, etc. You'll also need to set a password to exit the mode. I recommend playing around with the settings first, and then ask a friend or family member to set the code for you, so you can't easily exit Assistive Access mode.

https://support.apple.com/guide/assisti ... 0/ios/18.0

[2muchcode4me]

Another option is to use Instagram in Safari. You can bookmark the "instagram.com/direct/inbox" URL for quick access to your messages.

There's also an app called Beeper that consolidates all your chats from different apps into one feed. I have some privacy concerns about it, so I stopped using it, but I've used Beeper to access my WhatsApp chats on an iPad and also had Instagram linked, and it worked back then.

Hope this helps!

[Thoughtless]

So what do you wish to give up?

Social Media = the problem.
Social Media = the connection to your friends.

There are plenty of options but they all require effort.
1. Delete social media and ask your friends to reach you on a specific messenger.
>May miss out on things that they do not know to include you in.
>Will not spend time looking for those nuggets of things you do not wish to miss out on.
>Most do not wish to switch to a specific messengers to humor 1/handful of individual(s). Momentum in this area requires a critical mass.

2. Turn off notifications from social media and live the pull life-style. (can turn off notification on an app by app basis)
>May miss out on things while they are relevant.
>There may be anxiety of missing out on something during eventful periods.

3. Set a quiet time. (with something like nextdns.io)
-Dedicate a time when you cannot access certain apps.
-or inversely dedicate a recreation time for when you can access certain apps.
>May miss out on events during times you set aside for obligations.
>Can set aside a messenger that is out of band for important messages.
>Great for enforcing a schedule. (ie. sleep, work, study)

These methods do not affect your Apple pay or your commuting apps. A change will be difficult for your daily routine regardless. Humans, like water, seek the past of least resistance. Following the crowd is easier then cutting your way through.

Another thing is to grayscale your screen/apps/etc. Apps are colourful because it helps entice the mind and draws the eye.

What are you willing to give up. What are you willing to do.

Bonus : You can set up NextDNS.io on your computer too.
Bonus + : You can use it to block (ads, malicious sites, sites you just don't want your devices to touch)

[drmollytov]

I didn't switch to a dumb phone, but I did make some changes that have really helped my relationship with my phone. I still use it about 90 minutes a day, but most of that is spent reading, listening to music, or doing useful tasks like banking or navigation. None of it is spent doomscrolling anymore.

What helped:

First: I got rid of infinite feeds. If it scrolls forever, I do not open it on my phone. Full stop. (These days, the only infinite scroll things I use are the occasional shopping site, which I do on my laptop.)

I use an RSS reader to keep up with blogs, news sites, etc. I still want to read. (You can even use RSS for Reddit! Not sure about Instagram though.)

I turned off all my notifications except text messages and phone calls/voicemails. I'm still in one private friend group on Discord; if I want to know what's happening, I have to open Discord. Same with my email apps. (In practice, I open them about once a day.)

I only have one game on my phone at a time. I allow myself as many e-books and music files as I can fit on the phone, though.

I use NewPipe, a YouTube frontend that has no tailored recommendations or auto-play feature. Now I use YouTube a lot less, because I have to go look up what I want to watch and when it ends, it's done. (I also don't know if Instagram frontends exist but I wholeheartedly recommend one if they do.)

Occasionally I'll catch myself opening my phone, staring at it, and realizing it has no new things to show me. Then I put it down and go do something else. It's very liberating.